Cam for level winding devices



May 31, 1949. D. s. REITZ 2,471,654

- CAM Fon LEVEL WINDING DEVICES Filed Feb. 1, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'INVENTOR.

A TTOEA/EQS.

Mayv 1949.

- p. s. REITZ 0AM FOR LEVEL WINDING DEVICES Filed Feb. 1, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 2 9 INVENTORQ Patented May 31, 1949 Donald S.slieitznMilwnukee, '\Wis., assignor-to the FHBil 160., .lvlilwaukee,Wis, .a corporation .0!

' Wisconsin fimilication February 1, 1946,"S'eria1 NoJGELHM vl EDhisinvention-relates to: improvements in name for level winding devices and"method of .manu- 'facturing the same.

IItiis 'quite common on drose reels "OIVGfihBl' -winding :drums toinclude .level Winding :mechanism. 'This mechanism usually includesa'shaft driven from the same source as the drum andihaving camprojections thereon. Theswprdjedtionsfiomn crossing rigl'it and left'hand 3helica3l grooves for guiding a cam follower which projects iromth'e line or hose guide. Inasmuch as drumsanwreels vary in wi'dthfordifferenttypes of usesfiit is, of course, necessary ito provide a.cam of proper length for each width. "in the past it haS been commonzpractice to either cast 'the cam projections (onto the s'ha ft,entailing the provision of a special casting for each Wvidth o'fidrumwrto'mill aT-"he'lical groove -to produoe the required cam action. Theila'tter procedure entailed a special machine setup ffor each width of:drum.

lit is a general object of "the present iinvention to provide a methodof manufacturing cams for level winding devices wherein likecam-"forming sleeves are assembled =on 'a shaft to provide "a suitablecam of .anysselected length.

A *iurther'object of the invention is to provide an improved methodas'above described, wherein the cams are formed from "three types of@ieces: a 'core shaft piece which is :squareor hexagonal incross-section; anend'sleevepieee, and'an intermediate s'leeve piece.

further 'ob1iect o'f-the invention is to provide an improvedmthodzas=above described, wherein the end sleeve pieces and intermediates'leeve pieces are preferably -'die-oastings which are 180 designed *asto readily pull -'ou't --'of die, and which are also so designed as t'ocooperate'with like pieces to form riglit andleft hand helieal crossinggrooves'when a "plurality of said FSIBSVGS areessembledon the core*haTt.

further -ob'jeo't of the inventi'on is to *provide an improved eam forilevel "winding devices which is manuiacturedbythe above-"describedmethod.

"'With the above and other objects in "View, the

invention consists df th'e mprovements in cams i 1 is :a' fron't@dlevational mew-mi ta hose reel 1 which includes a mam manufactured in.accordance with the mnesefit zinvention Fig. 2 is an enlaizgediiragmentany front view showing ;a :partially assembled cm;

Fi :B isa side miewqoi one .371 Lthe mam-forming intermediate sleevesections;

:Eig. *4 "is santend view-whereof;

Fig. F5 is 9. perspective view of 113116 part zillustr-ated in Figs. i3and (4*;

F'igJS 1is=a side zviezwmfzone of thezcam-forming end sleeves, apartdieing Ibroken :away;

:Fig. Y7 :is :an endmewoi tthe apart zillustrated in Fig. fijlooking .atthe 1mm donning :end;

+Fig. 8 =is a persnecttue View dfuthesendcseotion equivalent ofithefhexagonail cnossesection. The

core shaft is preferably formed of cold rolled, hexagonal stock,shaiting. :Afterlitfhas vbeen cut to. a requiredlength iona.pa.rticular reel, .its ends may he =mi1led as .at J15, ;so .that theymay be journaled in .the .IL'I.

Slidably assembled on the core shaft are spaced and'opposed.errdssleeves M eachhavingone cam forming end, and :a plurzality ofintermediate sleeves :20, each having two icam Eforming ends. All of theintermediate sleeves r20 are identical and are preferablydie-mastirom'the sarmevdie.

.zEach end :sleeve this gpreferably formed with an :extension .13 of:reduneid diameter which ma be :pinned ito :the :core .shait :as :.at1-24 to prevent endwise movement; "3311a tworend :sleeves -l .8, -usedon sea-oh level mind I oamimstal-lation are .identical, but areassembkediin opposin zpmitions. Theend sleeves are predictablydie-castings ifommed :from the-same die.

sReferring :now moze -rpa'i'ticularly :to 2, v 6, 772111158, each -endSleevelhasan rhexagonal bore 25 :extending thercthmugh. This hexagon-a1shapei-isausedwwhemthe eoneysha'ft :tfihasthe-hexis squared, then therewill be a square bore in the end sleeves in lieu of the bore or, if theshaft I6 is splined, then the bore 25 will be correspondingly formed tocooperate with said spines. The cylindrical extension 23 at one end ofeach end sleeve is formed with a transverse hole 21 for receiving thepin 24. The reduced diameter extension 23 is, however, not essential asthe sleeve may be of uniform diameter throughout the major portion ofits length, if desired.

At the opposite end of each end sleeve there is a short extension 28, ofreduced diameter, which is cut off at an oblique angle as at 29. The endof the main portion of the sleeve is cut off along a helical line withthe helix extending in one direction half way around the circumferenceas indicated at the shoulder 30, and in a reverse direction for theother half of the circumference, as indicated at the shoulder 3|. Theextension 28 forms a part of the base for helical grooves when the partsare in final assembled position, and the cut-off shoulder portions 30and 3! form the sides of the helical grooves.

An intermediate sleeve piece is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Each ofthese pieces is generally triangular in the side elevational view ofFig. 3. Each member is formed with a suitable core receiving bore suchas the hexagonal bore 32, for receiving the hexagonal core shaft 15.Projecting from one end of the sleeve is an extension 33 and from theopposite end,an extension 34. These extensions have the same diameter aseach other but are of reduced diameterwith respect to the intermediateportion of the sleeve. The end 33 is cut off obliquely as at 35 and theend 34 is cut off on the same angle in a reverse direction as at 36. Itis apparent that the angle 19 formed between the cut-off 36 and thetransverse plane a is equal to the angle 0 formed by the cut-off 35 withsaid plane a. The angles 1) and c are also equal to the angle d of theend sleeve as is shown in Fig. 6. The cut-offs approximately meet at anapex 31. The intermediate portion of the sleeve is of greater diameter.One end is out along a helical line 38 which extends nearly half wayaround the circumference from the peak 38 and on a reverse helical line39 which extends from the peak 38' for nearly the other half of thecircumference. At the other end of the sleeve are similar but reverselyextending helical cuts 40 and M. The shoulders formed by the cuts 38 and40 meet at a point as at 42, and the shoulders formed by the cuts 39 andM meet at a point as at 43. The points 42 and 43 terminate short ofmeeting one another as is clear from Fig. 4 to provide a cross-overspace for the crossing helical grooves.

The cut-01f ends 35 and 36 which form equal angles b and c, as well asthe cut--ofi' end 29 which forms the angle d, equal to the angles 1) or0, will match each other when adjacent pieces in reversed positions areassembled on the core shaftas is clear from Figs. 1 and 2. For example,the

extension portion 28 of the end sleeve of Fig. 2

complements the extension portion 34 of the adjacent intermediate sleevepiece to form a complete base for a portion of a helical groove. Theseextensions 23 and 34 also serve to space the helical shoulders 30 andMl, and Hand 4| a proper distance apart. The shoulders 3!! and 49provide part of a helical groove extendin in one direction, and theshoulders 3i and M on the opposite side (which are hidden in Fig. 2),form part of a helical groove extending in a reverse direction and forma continuation of the helicalsgroove which:

.4 is shown in Fig. 2, and which is formed between the shoulders 38 and4|.

The slidable guide 43 on the hose reel is adapted to guide a length ofhose M as it is being wound on the reel [0. The guide is formed with acam follower which projects inwardly from the location and which coactswith the cam grooves in the usual manner for level winding devices.

It is apparent from the above that the prior method of casting a speciallevel winding cam for each width of reel or drum is no longer necessary,and that any width of cam member may be quickly formed from a piece ofthe shafting l6, two end pieces [8, and a selected number ofintermediate pieces 20, depending upon the final length desired. Thepieces I 8 and 20 may be formed inexpensively by a die-casting methodwith the use of only two dies. The core shaft may be formed fromstandard cold rolled shafting of hexagonal cross-section, and all thatis required are the simple operations of cutting the shafting off toproper length and milling the ends which are to be journalled.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated, asmay come within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A cam for a level winding device comprising a core shaft, a pair ofidentical end sleeves through which the core shaft non-rotatablyextends, said end sleeves being spaced apart and having facing endsprovided with helical shoulders arranged to form fragments of the sidesof crossing level wind grooves, and. a plurality of identical andinterchangeable intermediate sleeves through which the core shaftnon-rotatably extends mounted between the end sleeves, said intermediatesleeves each having both ends provided with helical shoulders which arecomplementary to the shoulders on the end sleeves, and said intermediatesleeves being assembled in alternately reversed position with thehelical shoulders on one sleeve spaced from the helical shoulders on anadjacent sleeve.

2. A cam for a level winding device comprising a core shaft, a pair ofend sleeves non-rotatably mounted in spaced position on said core theshoulders, and a plurality of intermediate.

sleeves non-rotatably mounted on the core shaft between the end sleeves,each intermediate sleeve having 'both ends provided with helicalshoulders. which are complementary to the shoulders on the end sleevesand said intermediate sleeves having projections of reduced diameter atboth ends,

ing plane of an end sleeve, the truncated ends of the sleeves beingpositioned in alternately re-v versed and abutting relationship to formbottoms of cam grooves and to maintain the helical shoulders on onesleeve spaced from the helical shoulders on an adjacent sleeve.

3. A cam for a level winding device comprisinga core shaft, a pair ofend sleeves nonl-rotatably mounted in spaced position on said coreshaft,z

said sleeves having lacing ends each. provided with a helical shoulderwhich extends in a right hand direction for a distance of approximately180 and in a left hand direction for an equal distance and there beingan end of reduced diameter projecting beyond said helical shoulders,said end being truncated by an oblique plane which extends in the samegeneral direction as the shoulders, a plurality of intermediate sleevesnon-rotatably assembled on the core shaft between said end sleeves, saidintermediate sleeves each having both ends provided with helicalshoulders which are complementary to the helical shoulders at the endsof the end sleeve, and there being a projection of reduced diameter atboth ends of each intermediate sleeve, said pro- J'ections beingtruncated by oblique planes which are at the same angles as the planesof the truncated ends of the end sleeves and which intersect each othernear the periphery of the sleeve, and said sleeves being positioned withthe truncated ends in alternately reversed and abutting relationship toform bottoms for cam-grooves and to maintain the helical shoulders ofone sleeve spaced from the helical shoulders of an adjacent sleeve.

4. A cam for a level winding device comprising a core shaft; a pair ofidentical end sleeves through which the core shaft non-rotatablyextends, said end sleeves being spaced apart and having facing endsprovided with helical shoulders arranged to form fragments of the sidesof crossing level wind grooves, and the facing ends of said end sleeveshaving substantially flat end surfaces which extend in the same generaldirection as the shoulders; and a plurality of identi cal intermediatesleeves through which the core shaft non-rotatably extends mountedbetween the end sleeves, said intermediate sleeves each having both endsprovided with helical shoulders which are complementary to the shoulderson the end sleeves and said intermediate sleeves each havingsubstantially flat end surfaces which ex.- tend at substantially thesame angle as the fiat end surface of an end sleeve, said intermediatesleeves being assembled in alternately reversed position with the endsurfaces of adjacent sleeves in abutment and with the helical shouldersof one sleeve spaced from the helical shoulders of an adjacent sleeve.

DONALD S. REITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,184,723 Parks Dec. 26, 19392,236,297 Reid Mar. 25, 1941

